In 1849 England, widowed governess Rose Sutton comes to Godwin House for security and finds herself falling for its formidable mistress. Philippa Godwin has no use for convention, but loving Rose may cost them both.

Philippa has built her life around work, duty, and the fierce protection of what is hers. A wealthy mill owner and mistress of a sprawling northern estate, she has little patience for society’s expectations and even less interest in surrendering her independence to a husband.

Rose arrives seeking stability for herself and her daughter, expecting little more than respectable employment. Instead, she finds a household still carrying old wounds, a boy in need of patience, and a woman whose carefully ordered life leaves very little room for tenderness.

What begins as a practical arrangement slowly becomes something far more intimate. Rose brings warmth into Godwin House, while Philippa offers Rose and her daughter the kind of safety neither has known in years. As affection deepens into desire, both women are forced to consider what it would mean to build a life together in a world that has no proper place for what they are becoming.

Class, reputation, family, and Philippa’s public position all threaten the fragile happiness they have created. Loving one another may be the easiest part. Protecting that love, and choosing it openly within the limits of their world, will require something far more difficult.

An Improper Arrangement is a full-length adult sapphic historical romance featuring a slow-burn butch/femme pairing, an age gap, employer/governess dynamics, found family, domestic intimacy, explicit open-door scenes, and a guaranteed happy ending.